Page 19 of Luck Be a Genie

“Yeeessss?” I did say that.

“And you did pay.” He shrugged and grinned cheekily, looking proud of himself. “You paid a dollar per item. I just made up the difference.”

By now, my left eyelid was twitching so hard I had to slap a hand over it. “You know that’s not what I meant.”

He shrugged, still grinning, then patted the tiny bit of space next to him. “Come try this with me. I’m thinking about buying it and sending it home. It’s blue! And look.” He pointed at the footrest. “It has extra soft cushion on the footrest!”

I put a hand to my forehead and groaned. “Nick!”

His voice softened. “Come on, Lucks. Rest for a bit.”

I sighed in defeat.

Who knew keeping up with a genie would be this difficult? I melted into the spot next to him and leaned my head against his shoulder.

We sat in silence for a few minutes while I tried to think of what to say and how to say it, but he beat me to it.

“Was this a boundary that I crossed? Did I mess up?” His voice sounded both sad and serious, and I sighed as I reached for his hand.

“It’s not a hard boundary, no. I actually think it’s very sweet, but I would have appreciated talking about it beforehand.”

“But you would have said no.” He looked at me with his soft grey eyes, and I bit my lip at the sadness in them. I forgot sometimes how genuinely sensitive Nick’s heart was.

“I... I probably would have put up a fuss, but Nick, I can tell this is part of your love language, and that matters to me. I think if you would have just explained that to me, I would have been more okay with it. I just felt blindsided, and that’s not a great feeling. At first I was worried something was wrong with my bank account. Also, not a great feeling.”

“I’m sorry, sunshine.” His tone was so genuine, and so remorseful, that I almost told him not to worry about it. Thankfully, I was able to keep my head as I gently squeezed his hand.

“I know this is important to you now, so how about from now on, we just chat about it beforehand? I’ll loosen up about it. But only to a point, Nick,” I warned him. “I like to purchase my own things too. It’s kind of the same as you liking to do most things without magic. How you like to work for your own successes. That’s what it feels like to me when I can provide luxuries for myself sometimes.”

He kissed the top of my head. “I understand.”

I released his hand and patted it before I tried to get out of the chair, but it refused to release me from its pillowy clutches until Nick helped me escape.

I helped him get free as well, took a glance around the huge home goods store, then turned to my genie.

“Okay, two things. That’s your limit. And I’d appreciate it if you’d send all my things to my home.”

Nick folded his arms. “No discussion?”

Growling under my breath because he was right, I said, “What were you thinking?”

“Four little things. One big thing.”

“Am I allowed to get something for you in return?” I challenged with a lifted eyebrow.

His mouth popped open in surprise, almost making me laugh. “I...”

“Yes?”

He sighed. “Fine, yes, sure.” His big shoulders slumped, but then he perked up, and held up a finger. “But, due to the differences in our economic stations⁠—“

“Oh, no you didn’t,” I threatened, poking and tickling his sides until he was hunched over from laughter.

“Uncle, uncle! Buy whatever you want.”

I smirked at my victory.

Who could keep up with a genie?